Garment band construction



F1 4F h 20, 15955 A. Q. PETERSON GARMENT BAND CONSTRUCTION Filed May 20, 1953 United States Patent GARMENT BAND CONSTRUCTION Albert C. Peterson, Park Ridge, 111., assignor to Union Special Machine Company, Chicago, 111., a corporation of Illinois Application May 20, 1953, Serial No. 356,177

1 Claim. (Cl. 2-237) This invention relates to wearing apparel and more particularly to the construction of an elastic band provided either partially or completely around an opening in a garment and adapted to fit about a portion of the body of the wearer, such as the waist.

In various garments, such as mens shorts, it is commonly the practice to provide a band or belt construction at the top which is adapted to fit snugly about the waist of the wearer and retain the garment in place. The arrangement is such that the band may be stretched sufficiently to enable it to be drawn upwardly over the hips in applying the garment to the body. No fastening means need be provided which require'being fastened or undone in the course of applying and removing the garment. A form of waistband which has come into considerable use in this connection embodies a strip of raw rubber which is incorporated under tension around the opening at the top of the garment and suitably stitched to fabric elements embodied in the band construction.

A primary object of the present invention has been to provide an improved form of garment band which is of simple and uniform construction, can be readily and economically produced and which is comfortable to the wearer of the garment and presents a neat and attractive appearance.

Toward the foregoing ends the invention contemplates a novel relationship between the main fabric of the garment, a strip of sheet rubber and a sheath which covers one face of the rubber strip. A feature of the invention is the arrangement of the several parts forming the band in such a way that there is no interfolding of any of the three major elements by which it is formed. The band may, if desired, be arranged to extend completely around the opening in the garment and be permanently united to provide an endless band. However it may, if preferred, be split at a suitable point and provided with appropriate fastening means to unite the free ends of the band after the garment is applied to the body. Also, if desired, the improved elastic band construction may be employed in only one or more portions of the part of the garment which surrounds the opening, the balance of that part of the garment being, in this event, of non-elastic construction.

Other objects, features and advantages of the invention will appear from the detailed description of several illustrative forms of the same which will now be given in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of a fragment of the waistband portion of a garment embodying the improved construction, parts of the material forming the waistband being broken away for clarity of illustration of other parts;

Fig. 2 is a crosssectional view through the waistband taken along the line 22 of Fig. l; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 2 illustrating a modified form of waistband embodying the invention.

For purposes of illustration, the invention has been shown as applied to the waistband of an under-garment such as mens shorts. The fabric of which the main body 'ice of the garment is formed is indicated at 10. This will ordinarily be a woven fabric and will not be capable of any substantial amount of stretching. However, the fabric may, in some instances, be of knit construction, and in that event may be capable of substantial stretch. The upper edge of the fabric 10 is folded inwardly and downwardly upon itself to provide a hem 11. A strip 12 of sheet rubber is then applied to the exposed face of the hem and overlies the major portion of this and a part of the section of garment fabric 10 below the hem. Preferably the upper longitudinal edge 13 of the rubber strip 12 is parallel with but positioned slightly below the top edge 14 provided by the fold which forms the hem 11 of the fabric 10. A sheath 15 having its longitudinal edge portions folded over to provide deep hems 16 and 17 is applied to the inner face of the rubber strip 12, i. e. the opposite face from that adjacent the fabric 10. The arrangement is such that the upper longitudinal edge 18, formed by the fold which provides the hem 16 of the sheath, is positioned slightly above the top edge 13 of the rubber strip. Preferably the edge 18 is slightly below the edge 14 of the outer fabric so that as applied to the body only the outer fabric is visible. The lower edge 19 of the sheath, formed by the fold which provides the hem 17, is disposed slightly below the lower edge 20 of the sheet rubber strip 12. As will be seen, the arrangement is such that the rubber strip is completely concealed between the garment fabric 10 and the sheath 15 except for the possible exposure of the top and bottom edges 13 and 20 respectively of the rubber strip. These edges are free but can be seen only upon careful examination of the waistband construction, and then only upon folding back the portion of the fabric 10 or the sheath 15 which extends beyond the edge being examined.

The several members forming the waistband, namely, the section of garment fabric 10, the rubber strip 12, and the sheath 15 are united by suitable lines of stitching extending longitudinally of the band. Preferably four such lines of stitching 21, 22, 23 and 24 are provided. Stitching 21 passes through five layers of material, namely the main body of the fabric section It the hem 11 of said section, the rubber strip 12, the hem 16 of the sheath, and the main body of the sheath 15. The line of stitching 22 passes through four layers of material which are the same as explained in relation to stitching 21 except that stitching 22 does not pass through the hem 11. Each of the lines of stitching 23 and 24 passes through four layers of material, namely the main body of the fabric section it the rubber strip 12, the hem 17 of the sheath, and the main body portion of the sheath.

in the modified form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 3, the band consists of a section 10a of the garment fabric having its upper edge folded inwardly to provide a hem 11a. Overlying the hem 11a and an adjacent portion of the section of garment fabric 10a, on the inner side of the latter, is a strip 12a of raw sheet nlbber, and this has superimposed over it a sheath 1511 having an inwardly and downwardly turned hem portion 16a and an inwardly and upwardly turned hem portion 17a. These hems are shallower than in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2. Four lines of stitching 21a, 22a, 23a and 24a extending longitudinally of the band are pref erably provided to unite the several members forming the band. In this modified construction only the line of stitching 21a passes through the hem 16a of the sheath, and only the line of stitching 24a passes through the hem 17a of the sheath. Accordingly the arrangement is such that stitching 21a passes through five layers of material, while the two lines of stitching 22a and 23:: pass through only three layers of material, and the line of stitching 24a passes through four layers of material.

In producing the band of either of the constructions the body of the wearer.

example, if the work feeding devices serve to advance a the band forming elements three inches in providing a given number of stitches, the metering device will supply a shorter length of the unstretched rubber strip, say about two inches of such strip, during the same interval. The relative rates of feed may be varied to suit the requirements. Thus the rubber strip may be stretched any desired amount beyond the original unstretched length, so that after the belt forming members pass beyond the stitch forming and work feeding devices of the sewing machine ordinarily employed in forming the band, including the puller rollers usually provided in such machines, the rubber strip will contract to substantially its untensioned length and in doing so will shirr or rufiie the garment material It) in the manner indicated in Fig. l. The sheath 15, however, 'is preferably formed ofknit material such as a jersey fabric, and it may, if desired, be cut on the bias to provide every greater stretch than is present lengthwise of the fabric. If desired, the sheath material may be metered in a manner similar to the rubber strip 12 so as to stretch it to a certain extent in advance of the point of stitch formation. However, this is not necessary since in any case the knit construction of the material will enable the rubber strip 12 to compact the loop formation of the fabric when tension on the rubber strip is released. As a result, the sheath 15 Will not be shirred or rufiled as is the garment fabric 11 but will provide a smooth, soft surface for engagement with As We have previously indicated, the garment fabric 10 may in some instances also be of knit construction rather than of a woven textile construction, and in that event the shirring or ruffling of the outer surface will also be eliminated.

While several illustrative forms of the invention have been described in some detail, it will be understood that various changes may be made in the form and arrangement of the several parts without departing from the principles and scope of the invention.

What I claim is:

In a garment having a portion formed of fabric and provided with an opening arranged to receive a part of the body of the wearer, an elastic band defining said opening and arranged to surround said part of the body and snugly fit the same which comprises a hem formed of said fabric in the region of said opening, a broad strip of sheet rubber overlying said hem and a portion of said fabric, and a sheath of fabric overlying said strip of sheet rubber, said sheath having its longitudinal edges folded inwardly to provide hems, the arrangement being such that said strip of sheet rubber has one of its longitudinal edges disposed between the outer face of said first mentioned hem and the outer face of a hem of said sheath, the other longitudinal edge of said strip of sheettrubber being disposed between the outer face of the other hem of said sheath and the fabric of said portion of said garment, the longitudinal edges of said strip of sheet rubber extending substantially along the fold lines of the hems of said sheath'but slightly inwardly thereof and the fold line of the outer hem of said sheath being positioned slightly inwardly of the fold line of said hem of the garment fabric, and a plurality of lines of stitching extending longitudinally of said band, one of said lines of stitching extending through said sheath, one hem thereof, said strip of sheet rubber, said hem of said garment fabric and the main body of said garment fabric, another of said lines of stitching extending through said sheath, the other hem' thereof, said strip of sheet rubber and the main body of said garment fabric, each of said References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED" STATES PATENTS 1,288,391 De Voe Dec. 17, 1918 2,132,616 Hardie a Oct. 11, 1938 2,343,374 Hargreaves Mar. 7, 1944 2,617,113

Hardie Nov. 11, 1952 

